Method and means for the optional operation of a radioreceiver either by direct or remote control



March 19, 1935. A. s. BLATTERMAN 1,994,603

METHOD AND MEANS FOR THE OPTIONAL OPERATION OF A RADIORECEIVER EITHER BY DIRECT OR REMOTE CONTROL Filed Sept. 2, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l EQD/O- FEE UENC) IN UT gwuentoa Jzzerzs.Bzatterm@ March 19, 1935.

A s; BLATTERMAN 1,994,603

METHOD AND MEANS FOR THE OPTIONAL OPERATION OF A RADIORECEIVER EITHER BY DIRECT OR REMOTE CONTROL Filed Sept. 2, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 u7l6er2S.B Zafl'erznan,

Patented Mar. 19, 1935 METHOD AND MEANS FORATHE OPTIONAL' 0 P E R A T I O N 015. A RADIORECEIVER EITHER BY DIRECT 0R REMOTE CON- TROL 1 Albert s. Blatterman, Asbury Park, N. .l. Application September 2, 1930, Serial No. 479,310 10 Claims. (C1. 250- 20) This invention relates to a system of controlling the operation of a radio receiver either direct or from a remote point, the control in the latter case being eifected without the use of wires between'the point of remote control and the receiver other than the usual house current lighting lines to which both the radio receiver and control element are connected, and without the use of energy radiated through space. I

A primary object of the invention is to carry forward the essential principles and features of my Patent No. 1,856,310 dated' May 3, 1932, wherein I have described methods and means for (1) switching the receiver on or off; (2) tuning the receiver; and (3) regulating the strength of signals reproduced on the receiver by-the use of high frequency current transmitted over the electric light lines from a point along these lines remote from the receiver, and my present invention comprises the similar use of the same methods and means of remote control operation.

While this system is adaptable and useful with any type or design of radio receiver its utility and flexibility may be greatly enhanced in prac tice if provision is made whereby the radio receiver may be operated, not only through remote control but also by direct manipulation of its own controls in the normal manner of operating the receiver and without the necessity of physically making anychanges in the apparatus Accordingly, a further object of the invention is to provide a system which permits of controlling the receiver both at the location of the receiver and from a remote point to enable the operator of the set to have a wider choice of operation, without hindrance of one means of operation with the other. In order to make clear situations that commonly arise in practice, let it be supposed for instance thatone of the usual broadcast type receivers located in a downstairs room of a house is being operated by remote control from an upstairs room but that a person downstairs wishes to change the program, which is being reproduced on the receiver by remote control from the upstairs room, to some other program. A desirable feature in this case would be one which would pennitthe person downstairs to cut off the upstairs remote control operation and operate the receiver downstairs in the usual way. As a second situation that may arise in practice let it be supposed that the remote control unit upstairs is turned off but that a person downstairs wishes to operate the radio set. In this case the desirability of providing electrically a method and means for direct downstairsoperation of the radio by means of itsown controls is obvious.

As a third conceivable situation, let it be supposed that the remote control unit has been accidentally or unintentionally left turned on in some room. other than that in which the radio receiver islocated. In this case it would be desirable to be able to go to the radio receiver and operate it directlyby manual manipulation of its own controls in the usual way without interference or effects of any kind from the remote control apparatus which is still turned on.

Accordingly, it will be apparent that the present invention provides methods and means for increasing the flexibility and usefulness of the system of remote controloperation of a radio receiver as setforth in my copending application aforesaid by permitting the optional operation of the radio receiver either by the direct or remote" control under circumstances of the character set forth.

With the above and other objects in View which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists inthe novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

' A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention isshownin the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating one embodiment'of the invention and refers particularly to the radio receiving set and associated switching equipment. v

- Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating a modification of the invention, and refers particularly to the elements of the receiving set andits associated switching equipment. 1

Similar references designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the draw- 1ngs:-

Referring to Figure 1, the radio receiver is shown at R, and the apparatus ofthe mixing and switching equipment is designated generally as M. The said equipment includes the vacuum tubes 1 and 2, input coil system 3, 4, antenna A, power transformer 5, voltage divider 6, ground G, plate choke coil 7, relay 8, with armature operated contacts 9, condenser 10 coupling the tube 2 to theradio receiver at the latters antenna binding post 11, and condenser 12 to assist in making the two electric light wires L and L act as a single one-way conductor for high frequency currents, all as described in my aforesaid Patent No. 1,856,310. One of theelectric light wires, L, is

grounded as indicated at G, in accordance with house wiring regulations. Thelight lines are connected to the mixing and switching equipment circuits through the plug and receptacle P, and the radio receiver power supply is obtained over its usual power cord R through plug and receptacle P. As will also be observed ,from Figure 1, the usual ground terminal 13 of the radio receiver R is connected to the ground G through the wire 14.

A distinctive feature of the present invention resides in the provision of the switch system 15, 16 and 17 and circuits directly associated therewith including the high frequency choke coil 18 and tapping points 19 and 20 on the voltage divider 6. In connection with theswitching elements 15 and 16, it will of course be understood that the connecting link 17 therefor is insulated from the switch arms. This switch system may be a component part of the mixing and switching equipment or it may be connected thereto by a short multiconductor cord, and while Ihave shown in the drawings a certain type of lever switch system, it will, of course, be apparent and understood that many other mechanical arrangements of this switch may be readily employed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

A distinctive characteristic of the switch system referred to is that it accomplishes three things, namely (1) it permitsoperation of theradio receiver by remo-te'control; (2) it permits the direct operation of the receiver by manual manipulation of its own controls without interference or effects of any kind from the remote control unit indicated at connected elsewhere on the electric light lines; and (3) it permits switching the entire receiving equipment including the tubes of the mixing and switching circuits on or off.

With the switches 15 and 15 thrown to the positions shown in the drawings, it will, be seen that the light line current (not the high frequency current from the remote control box) entering the circuits through the lead L which is the side of the line not grounded onathe light system, passes through switch 15 to contact 22, thence through coil 3, thence through primary winding 5a of the transformer 5 and to ground at G, thus furnishing operating power to and lighting the filaments of the tubes 1 and At the same time, line current will flow from contact 22 through relay contacts 9 to the power supply I circuit of the receiver through plug and reon the line L ceptacle P and thence back to the other side Thus, as long as the relay contacts are closed, the radio receiver is supplied with operating power from the electric light line. With this setting of the switches, the high frequency choke coil 18 is short circuited through the switch blades of switch 15 and contacts 22 and 23. Under the conditions just described, therefore, the equipment is so connected as to be operable by remote control in accordance with the method and means described in my hereinbefore referred to patent since the high frequency currents arriving from the remote control apparatus over the lines, flow through switch 15 to contact 22, to coil 3, to condenser 3a and ground G and hence operate the detector tube 2 and relay 8 which turns the radio receiver on or off and permits of the beat frequencytuning of the receiver all in the manner described in the appli- 1 cation aforesaid.

It will be noted that whenthe switch 15 is in the remote control position, switch 16 interlocked therewith by insulating link 17 connects the detector tube plate circuit containing the relay, I

through contact 25 toa point 20 on the voltage divider, this point 20 being so selected as to furnish a rather low plate voltage suitable for good detecting action of the tube 2.

With the switches in this position, that is, in the position for remote control operation; the tuning dial or dials of the radio receiver R are set at some suitable point, such as at 100 on the scale or at zero, or elsewhere if desired, and left at that setting, the volume control on the receiver is also turned to some suitable setting such as to the position for maximum volume desired, and the receiver may then be tuned and its volume regulated, and switched on or off by remote control. I

If now, it is desired to operate the receiver directly bymeans of its own controlsand cut off any effect from the remote control point, the

switches l5'and l6rare turned in the direction of the arrows so that the blades of switch connect with contacts 23 and 24, and the blade of switch 16 connects with contact '26; It will be seen, first of all,-that under these conditions, anyhigh frequency current coming over the lightlines to the switch 15, as from a remote control unit ofthe type comprehended in my present invention, cannot enter the coil 3 because of the presence now of the high frequency choke coil18 in the path. for

such-current from theline to coil 3. Hence; the

tube 2 is unaffectedzbysuch highfrequency cur- I rents, and remote control operation of the receiver is rendered impossible. It will also be seen that under these conditions (no high frequency light line current impressed on the grid of detector tube 2) the direct current flowing to the plate of tube 2 through the relay winding, S-from the voltage divider, willbe relatively large'in accord,- ance with the well known characteristic of grid leak detection whereby the plate currentis large for no impressed high frequency current voltage and small when high frequency current ,voltage is applied so thatthe armature-of the-relay will be attracted toward the pole face'of same and open the relay contacts 9. Normally, the opening of thesecontacts would turn the radio receiver. off by opening the, line current supply to ,the

receiver, but with the switch 15 in the position now contemplated, it will be seenithat therelay contacts are short circuitedby the blades of the switch 15 thus keeping the radio receiver turned on. This position of the switches 15 and16, therefore, is the position providing for direct operation of thereceiver by means of its own controls in the usual way. The receiver'remains turned on, and the tubes 1 and 2 are also turned on; and radio signals arriving on the antenna A are passed to the radio receiver through tube 2 and condenserlO, the tube 2 now functioning as a repeater or amplifier rather than as'a detector because the switch 16 now contacting through contact 26- to a higher voltage point 19 on the voltage divider impresses a higher voltage onthe tube '2 which higher voltage as is'well known is more suitable for the amplification of signals, by

the tube than the lower voltage from point.

through switch contact as required for good detection. The dial or dials of the receivermay now be rotated in the usual way to tune in various stations, and the volume or strength of signals regulated by the volume control knob or adjusting referenceto the embodimentshown in Figurel, namely that of switching the entire reception equipment off directly at the receiver is accomplished by turning switch to a position where neither of its switch blade makes contact with any of the active switch points 22,23 or 24, since by so doing, all the light line power both to the receiver and to the tubes 1 and 2, is turnedoil.

Referring now to Figure 2 of the drawings there is shown a modification of the invention in which a distinguishing feature resides in the fact that the tubes 1 and 2 are not turned on whenthe radio receiver is being operated directly by its own controls. These tubesare lighted only'during the remote control operation. In this figure, the parts and circuits bearing reference characters similar to Figure 1 functionin the same general way, and thenew features of" this figure resides in theswitchSO: and its associated'wiring. It is through this switch that thedesiredoptional operation of the receiver either by direct or remote control isaccomplished.

The switch is of the double-pole, double-,-

throw type with twoblades31 and 32 insulated from each other but mechanically connected so that both blades moveat the, same time when the switch is operated. It will be clear that when the switch blades are in the position, shown in the drawings the antenna A is connected to the input coil 4 through blade 31 and contact .31 and-the light line is connected-by switch blade 32 to the contact 33 to the mixing and relay circuits, hence lighting the tubes 1 and 2 through the coil 3, primarywinding 5 of transformer 5, andthenceto ground atG. 'Powerwill now also be furnished to the radio receiver R by the closing of relay contacts 9. Radio frequency choke coil 18 is used as a refinement to, preventhigh frequency current entering the receiver R. Remote control high frequency currents comingover the lines L and L from a remote control apparatus of the type herein contemplated will also reach the coil 3 by way of switch 32 'andcontact 33, and through the associated coil 4 will affect thevacuum tube 2 and permit the beat frequency tuning of there: ceiver, and the operationof the relay all in accordance with the methods described in my Patent No. 1,856,310. This positionof theswitch 30, therefore, provides for remote control operation of the receiver. u

New, on the other hand; when the switch 30 is thrown so that its bladesengage with the contacts 34 and 35, the line currents (both of the lighting frequency and the high frequency) are obviously cu-t oif from thecoil 3 and transformer 5 thusrendering the tube2 inoperative in every respect; but, power is supplied directly to the radio receiver through therelay contacts 9 which now remain closed since tube 2 is not now lighted. At the same time, the antenna is connected bythe blade 31' of the switch from contact to the antenna binding post 11 of the receiver and the receiver may now be operated directly by means of its own control. This position of the switch 30, therefore, provides for direct operation of the receiver without any effect from high frequency currents which may be coming over the light lines from a remote control unit elsewhere connected to the lines, and at the same time provides the desirable feature of not leaving the tubes in the mixing and switching equipment lighted.

The entire reception equipment is turned off by moving the blades 31 and 32 of switch 30 to a positionwhere they do not make contact with any of the points 31 33, 34 and 35.

While in the drawings, I have shown vacuum tubes of the four element type, such as the present day commercial 227 type, it is to be under-v stood andwill be clear to those skilledin the art that other types :of .tubes such'for instance as the screen grid type may also be used with slight apparent circuitmodification without departing from the spirit of the invention. For present day commercial broadcast reception, I prefer the type of tube shown in the drawings, especially for the detector tube of the mixing box for the reason that the input circuits of such broadcasting receivers are already well adapted for use with such tubes in the manner and according to the methods described in connection with the invention. a

In this case, as in my Patent No. 1,856,310 and application Serial No. 475,524, filed August 15th, 1930, I-define the terms remote control. or similar phrasing in reference thereto as including complete control of the receiver, i. e. (1) the eifect of tuning the receiver, (2) switching the receiver on or *oif at will, and (3) regulating the strength or volume of reception, and I hereby distinguish between the concommittent accomplishment of all three of these functions and that of only one or two of them as in otherremote control devices.

. I claim:-- I

1. In a system for controlling the operation of a radio receiver over'house current power lines to which the radio receiver is connected, the combination with said power lines and a radio receiver, of apparatus for generating high ire-- quency currents connected to said lines at a point remote from the receiver, means connected to the receiver and the power lines responsive to said high frequency currents to control the radio signal selection and energization of said receiver, said means including a switch, and means including connections'whereby the opening ofsaid switch will interrupt the passage of said high frequency currents to the radio receiver while maintaining the power supply thereto.

2. In radio receiving apparatus adapted to be controlled either directly or by remote control, the combination of signal receiving apparatus, means connected to house current power lines for energizing said signal receiving apparatus from said power lines, apparatus for generating high frequeny oscillations connected to said power lines at aremote point from said signalreceiving apparatus for impressing said high frequency oscillations upon said power lines, means for impressing radio signals upon the input circuit of said radio signal receiving apparatus and for heterodyning said high frequency oscillations ,with said radio signals to control the radio signal selection of said signal receiving apparatus from said remote point, and switch means for altering certain connections of saidlast mentioned means when said signal receiving apparatus is to be operated directly instead of from said remote point.

3. A system for controlling the operation of a radio receiver over house current power lines to which said receiver is connected including an apparatus having means for generating high frequency currents connected to the lines at a point remote from the receiver, means in circuit with the receiver and power lines responsive to said high frequency currents to control the receiver, and switch means in circuit with said last named means to interrupt the high frequency currents received from said apparatus while maintaining the power supply to the receiver.

4. In a system for controlling the operation of a radio receiver apparatus over house current power lines to which the receiver is connected, the combination with said lines, of a control apparatus for generating high frequency currents connected to said lines at a point remote from the receiver, means in circuit withthe receiver apparatus and with the power lines, said means being responsive to high frequency currents generated by said control apparatus, and manually shiftable switch means in circuit with said last named means, said switch means including a manually operable switch member operating in conjunction with a plurality of contacts connected with the power lines and a plurality of contacts connected with said means whereby when said manually shiftable switch member is moved it will open the high frequency circuit from said control apparatus to said means but maintain the connection between said line contacts and said means.

5. In a remote control system for operating a radio receiver over house current power lines with which said receiver is connected, including, apparatus for generating high frequency currents connected to said lines at a point remote from the receiver, means for coupling said apparatus to the power lines for transmitting high frequency currents over said lines to the receiver, means at the receiver for simultaneously receiving variable high frequencycurrents transmitted thereto over the power lines from said apparatus and radio signals from the antenna. system, and switch means associated with said last named means for interrupting high frequency currents transmitted thereto from the control apparatus.

6. A system for controlling a radio receiver over house current power lines to which said receiver is connected including apparatus at the receiver for simultaneously receiving variable high frequency currents transmitted thereto over the power lines and radio signals from the antenna system, control apparatus remote from said receiver having means for generating high frequency currents, means for coupling said apparatus to said house current power lines for impressing said variable high frequency currents thereon, said variable high frequency currents being transmitted to said first mentioned means for controlling energization of, the receiver and heterodyning with the incoming signal to control the tuning and regulate the signal strength of the receiver, and switch means for interrupting the transmission of said variable high frequency currents from said control apparatus to said apparatus at the receiver and restoring the connection between'said apparatus at the receiver and the power lines.

'7. A system for the entire remote control operation of a radio receiver over the house lines supplying it with power, including the tuning of said receiver to receive and reproduce signals from transmitting stations of any wave length, the regulation of the strength of said signals and the switching of the signals on or off from a point other than at the receiver itself, comprising in combination, an electric power'line system, a plurality of interconnected control apparatus means remote from the receiver, means for coupling said control means with the power line system whereby aportion of said means is a generator of said high frequency currents that are impressed upon the power lines; and means at the receiver respecof a remote control apparatus for generating high 1 frequency currents and connected to said lines at a point remote from the receiver, means in circuit with the receiver and the power lines responsive operation of the receiver by the remote control apparatus or under its own controls.

9. In a system for controllingthe operation of a radio receiver over house current power lines to which said receiver is connected, means at the receiver for simultaneously receiving variable high frequency currents transmitted thereto over the powerlines and radio signals fromthe antenna system, apparatus connected with. said power lines at a point remote from the receiver and having means for generating high frequency currents which are carried over the power lines to said first named means, and switch means for interrupting the transmission of high frequency current from said control apparatus to the receiver and simultaneously connecting the antenna system directly with the receiver.

10. A system for controlling a radio receiver over house current power. lines to which said receiver is connected, including control apparatus connected with the current power'lines at a point remote from the receiver and having means for generating high frequency currents which are transmitted to the power lines, apparatus in circuit with the receiver and having an antenna system and connected with the power'lines for receiving variable high frequency currents transmitted theretofrom the control apparatus, and switch means for connecting the antenna system directly in circuit with the receiver and interrupting high frequency currents from the control apparatus. I I I ALBERT S. BLATTERMAN.'

to said high frequency currents to control the receiver independently of its-own controls, and a switch device including means for permitting the 

